Book review: ‘How to Write a Mystery’ by Mystery Writers of America
How to Write a Mystery contains contributions from 73 authors—some of which are essays that are several pages long, while others are a single page or even a single sentence. This allows the book to cover lots of ground, addressing both general novelist issues and, of course, mystery-specific topics.
For instance, it has a great essay by Naomi Hirahara about the pros and cons of different kinds of amateur sleuths. I love a good list. And it has a one-pager by Robert Lopresti about the Rising Island method of writing a novel, which is for folks who are halfway between being a pantser and plotter.
Even if you have no interest in writing a straight-up mystery novel, you’ll find useful advice in this book. I give it 5 stars, 9 dog-ears, and one Post-it.
Things I dog-eared and Post-it’d include:
- Naomi Hirahara’s list of different kinds of amateur sleuths (i.e., lawyer, parent of young children, clergy, journalist, and 10 others), including their superpower, challenges, and advantages, along with examples from literature
- Susan Vaught’s breakdown of mysteries for different age groups
- Chris Grabenstein’s advice on having a diverse cast of characters, and the popularity of “Own Voice” stories
- Kelley Armstrong’s tips on profanity, including making up your own in fantasy worlds
- Robert Lopresti about the Rising Island method of writing
- Greg Herren’s advice on accents and regionalisms (which is essentially that a little bit goes a long way)
- Maddee James’ advice about what to include on your author website
Related posts:
Book review: ‘The Fantasy Fiction Formula’ by Deborah Chester
Book review: ‘The Writer’s Journey’ by Christopher Vogler
Book review: ‘Story’ by Robert McKee
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